New Brunswick Fishing Spots, Maps and Reports

New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province in Canada with English and French sharing almost equal use by a population of about 750,000 residents. It has 519 square miles of water surface, 3 breathtaking coastlines spanning 2,250 kilometers, 32,000 kilometers of winding streams and uncrowded rivers, and is practically on the doorstep to the ocean since every inch of the province is within 200 kilometers from the ocean.
Some interesting facts about New Brunswick is that the world’s biggest lobster was caught here weighing over 90 tons and measuring 10.5 meters long. Also, this province has the distinction of having invented the sardine can in 1932. As an angler, it is good to know that a law that was passed in 1894 and remains valid to this day states that any person who owns the property that border a river owns riparian rights. This is an exclusive right to the riverbed and that section of the river fronting the property. Thus, New Brunswick has the distinction of having more privately-owned river than any other location in North America. Fortunately, the province is rich in water sources and remains an angler’s paradise destination. Some of the VIP anglers who have enjoyed New Brunswick’s waters were Prince Charles of England and the famous Marilyn Monroe.
Along with the provincial government, the NBSFA is one of the organizations for preserving bass fishing in the province through a Catch and Release program. Part of their goal is to promote angling tournaments as well and improve the safety of anglers and minimize fish mortality especially during tournaments.
Miramichi River is the best place to fish for salmon. It is 250 kilometers long and passes through 4 cities and has 2 main river branches: the Southwest and the Northwest. Other species that can be caught in this river are the smelt, American Shad, brook trout, and the herring. If you plan on going salmon fishing, you can only use fly-fishing. Moreover, any large salmon must be released alive as part of the conservation efforts of the government. Some parts of the river may occasionally be temporarily closed to fishing if the population of the Atlantic Salmon is thought to be decreasing.
For bass fishing, St. John River and Tobique River are highly recommended. St. John River is also referred to as Bay of Fundy because it is at the mouth of the bay which borders between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Tobique River is one of the tributaries of the St. John River.
Other fish species that can be found in New Brunswick are the yellow perch, rainbow trout, bullhead, chain pickerel, muskies, speckled trout, shad, lake trout, sturgeon, smelt, burbot, and brown bullhead, to name a few of the more than 50 species.
Deep sea fishing is also a main attraction at the Bay of Fundy or the Bay of Chaleur. In these waters, you will be able to catch flounders, cods, and mackerel.